I moved to Rochester in July 2011. Worst. trip. ever. It was costly, tiring, unenjoyable. I simply hated it. Tharius flew down to drive back with me. I rented a Budget truck and a car dolly to make the 16 hour drive north the weekend after Independence Day. Let me tell you why I will resist every opportunity to rent a moving truck from Budget. They are the least expensive for long distance moves that I found. And this makes perfectly good sense after my experience with them. When I went to pick the truck up, they gave me a truck with a hole in the back. "Oh. It's just the sunlight through the fiberglass," the old man says. -_- Sir. I know the difference between SKY and FIBERGLASS. So I insisted on them giving me a different truck. We intended to leave early one morning but the lights on the dolly weren't connecting to the truck. It's illegal to drive them without proper working signal lights. So before this journey even began, I had to call Budget's roadside assistance. He got lost coming to my house and when he got there discovered it was a blown fuse. Sigh. These are things Budget should know. We finally got on the road in the evening. It was dark by the time we reached TN and a storm was abrewin. It started to rain while I was driving. Then the bottom fell out and it began to pour. I felt damp on my back. After I saw the window was not open or cracked, I asked Tharius to see if there was water dripping or something. Yes. Yes, there was. More like trickling into the cab of this truck. I pulled over to a gas station to at least get out of the rain to figure out what was going on. Raven (my dog) was between the seats with her food and water bowl now filled with water. WHAT. IN. THE. HELL?! I called my mom who says "You might wanna check the bed of the truck." All of Jesus' GLORY!! Rain was not only inside the cab but also on the boxes in the bed of the truck. It's the middle of the night. I'm somewhere south of Nashville and Budget's customer service ain't worth a dime. We GPSed our way to the nearest (not so near) Wal-Mart to find a tarp. Turns out, paint drop cloths are cheaper so we got a few of those and covered the boxes. The rain had slacked up but it was still not easy to climb into this truck and cover boxes with plastic. It was kind of fun though; reminded me of rock climbing.
Anywho. The original plan was to take our time, emjoy the trip, and make some random stops. Well, when there's potential of your vehicle flooding all of that goes out of the window. Our new goal was to get to Rochester, turn in this truck, and say to hell with Budget. From Nashville on I drove while he slept, we switched, I slept while he drove. Great, huh? Tons o fun. We only stopped for gas, food, and the restroom. We finally got to Rochester on a Friday, early enough for me to get keys to my apartment. We went to unload the truck immediately. While we were moving the couch an elderly man asked us if we needed any help. He said he had some moving tools we could use. When the couch didn't fit in the doorway he insisted we call his wife, Helga, to come help. "She's a genius with things like this," he says. Sure guy. Go get the wife. Needless to say the couch didn't fit. It was simply too large. But she gave it a good try. Took the door off the hinges and everything. We ended up moving that couch to Penny's apt and eventually gave it to a fellow soldier who had no furniture.
When I went to return the truck I discussed the leak issue. They couldn't do anything because I returned it to a satellite location at Pep Boys, but gave me the number to call. Which I did. This woman (I use that term because it's the most polite) tells me she can knock 15% off....no madam. You can do more than that. I asked for a higher power. She rerouted me. This one told me to file with their insurance. And she can give me 15% off. Insurance, yes. 15%, no. Higher power. I was rerouted until I reached the corporate office, with whom I left a very detailed message. Then called insurance. I ended up getting a check from their insurance company for my damaged items. When corporate called me back she says "Since we've had issues with this truck before...." ummm.....why is this truck still on the road if you have issues with it?? Retire it! She gave me 45%. So essentially, my move was free. Thanks Budget. But I ain't tryna use y'all again.
So before I'd moved to Rochester I'd been trying to find a job, full time, part time, any time so I wasn't solely with loans. I hadn't found anything so I told Jesus I'd watch Him work. I was on the sidewalk one day and the old man that helped with the sofa saw me and started to talk to me. Asked why I moved and what school and program I was in. Turns out Bill was a patent lawyer recruiter. And he hired graduate students to update his databases and asked if I was available to start tomorrow. In his office that was right next to my apartment building. Look. At. God. He spoils me and I thank Him. So now I'm in Rochester, starting school with this part time job, ready to continue our not-as-long-of-a-distance relationship.
